


Sesquipedalian - Beauty and the Beast Version

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1163]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 02:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16823233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: After losing his true love, Jackson Gibbs married again thinking it the right choice for his boy. Unfortunately, his new wife was jealous of the attention bestowed on his child. In a fit of rage when Jackson chose the child over her, she cursed his kingdom. Now, Jackson is gone and in his place Leroy Jethro Gibbs must bear the tragedy brought by the curse. Only a king and queen who are true loves will bring the kingdom prosperity. Gibbs' first wife Shannon, and daughter Kelly, have been lost to the sands of time because Gibbs didn't love them enough.In their place, he has adopted a new daughter Abby and married Diane. Will the kingdom fair any better under this new regime?





	Sesquipedalian - Beauty and the Beast Version

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Red_Pink_Dots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Pink_Dots/gifts).



> This is for RPD, an early Christmas present of sorts to cheer her up. I hope. This is also a dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 07/07/2002 for the word [sesquipedalian](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2002/07/07/sesquipedalian).
> 
> sesquipedalian  
> Given to or characterized by the use of long words.  
> Long and ponderous; having many syllables.  
> A long word.
> 
> It's based off of RPD's Artwork Prompt Challenge particularly the [Abby Under Glass](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14914700/chapters/34547931) artwork.
> 
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> 
> Note, this is the start of a series that I hope to finish this month, but we'll see if it behaves. This is just the first chapter/story.
> 
> I know. I know. I have other series that I'm placing on hold to write this one, but I love beauty and the beast and wanted to do a tribute of sorts to it for Christmas. I will continue the other series in January and finish them eventually I promise.

Ducky watched Gibbs with his new daughter. He was the oldest of those gathered for the adoption ceremony. The only one that knew what had happened with Gibbs’ first wife and daughter. 

He’d warned Gibbs to be careful. Gibbs had scoffed and protested that it couldn’t possibly happen a second time. Ducky had just given him a don’t be stupid look, which Gibbs had also brushed off. 

Ducky easily faded into the background of the house halls in his wizard robes. The party was going strong around him with nobles all dressed in ball gowns and tuxedos or other appropriate court garments. Most dismissed him believing him to just be a normal story teller making use of as many sesquipedalian words as he could to tell his stories.

He was perhaps one of the only ones old enough to remember the dark magic that had enshrouded this castle after Shannon and Kelly’s death. It wasn’t Ducky’s doing nor Gibbs, really. It had been the act of wrath that took Shannon and Kelly from them.

Ducky had been with Gibbs’ family since before he married Shannon. He played the part of the court magician, illusions, fake magic, etc to cover his very real abilities, but even his abilities hadn’t been able to save Shannon or Kelly when the time came. It had taken him years to realize what had really happened the night that Shannon and Kelly died. 

The loss of Shannon and Kelly had been hard for all in the kingdom. They were loved much by everyone, but Gibbs suffered the most. It had been a blow aimed directly at him and it had struck true. 

Ducky had suffered Gibbs’ displeasure for many years as he railed at Ducky for not saving them when Ducky and Gibbs both knew that Gibbs was the only who could have saved them. It had been an arranged marriage, but love had blossomed. Only not the love needed to save them. 

It was actually during Jackson’s time that the curse had been placed on the kingdom. Only a king and queen truly in love would be able to rule the kingdom without tragedy befalling them. Jackson’s first wife had been a true love match and the kingdom had prospered, but when a sickness stole her life away Jackson had believed marrying again to be best for his only son.

He’d started dating even bringing a woman to his wife’s funeral much to his son’s, Leroy’s, displeasure. Even now, Ducky didn’t know why Jackson had married Diane, only that Jackson had been positive that she would help mend the gap growing between him and his son. Instead, she’d only driven son and father further apart.

Diane hated Leroy. He was too noisy, too full of life, too much a happy child. She’d demanded that Jackson choose between her and Leroy. 

Jackson didn’t even see it coming. He protested that surely she didn’t mean that. When she insisted she did, well what other choice did he have? He chose his son.

He would always choose his son. Unfortunately, their marriage had given Diane enough power that with her sorceress abilities she’d been able to curse the whole kingdom. The whole kingdom suffered if a true love match wasn’t on the throne. 

Jackson had immediately divorced her despite how frowned upon that was. She’d left in a huff and sworn that she would be back one day to claim the throne as his son’s true love. Jackson hadn’t believed her. 

At the time, Ducky thought it just an old woman’s irate threat because things hadn’t gone her way. Still it quickly became obvious that whatever she had done, had affected the whole kingdom. Draught came.

Many died, including Jackson who believed in feeding his people before himself. The throne passed to Leroy now 18, but hardly experienced in the ways of the world. Ducky had done his best to raise Gibbs to be a good ruler for the kingdom, but even he could not stop the curse that befell the land. 

Tough harvest, after tough harvest and eventually the people begged Gibbs to marry, to find his true love. Gibbs had never met anyone that came even close to what the fairy tales claimed you needed for true love, but he didn’t want to let his people down. He searched far and wide, sending out many of his trusted knights to find his true love.

Nothing ever came of it. When a neighboring kingdom proposed marriage to one of their daughters in exchange for a treaty between the two kingdoms, Gibbs thought that they had the solution. Everything had seemed fine as they married. 

They’d had a child relatively quickly and the kingdom looked on and smiled happily. The crops started to do a little better, though not great. Everyone started to rejoice and thought they were through the curse. 

They had 5 years of relative peace before it happened. The sorceress returned, a dark presence still seething that Jackson didn’t love her as much as his son. Ducky tried to warn Gibbs, but foolishly he didn’t listen.

She engineered the death of Kelly and Shannon both. It shook the kingdom to the core. It took Ducky many years to realize that the sorceress had enthralled Gibbs. 

She’d managed to lure Gibbs into marrying her despite being responsible for the death of his wife, child, and possibly even father. Of course, Ducky soon realized that he was the only one who recognized the sorceress as the same one that had cursed the kingdom. The citizens and Gibbs thought she was their savior. 

That was 3 years ago and the kingdom was prospering again. Aside from Ducky, everyone seemed to believe that Gibbs and Diane were actually a true match. Even the curse behaved like they were.

Ducky couldn’t believe that they were actually in love and he’d been doing his best to break Gibbs out of the spell she had on him, but even as his oldest, trusted friend, Ducky didn’t have as much access to Gibbs as Diane did. When his friend had proposed adopting a child due to Diane’s infertility, Ducky worried. He’d warned Gibbs against this course of action, knowing that Diane’s jealousy would likely flair up again over this kid. 

Gibbs had ignored him. Now, as he watched the formal adoption of one Abigail into Gibbs’ family, he hoped that he was wrong, but he knew he wasn’t. Her family thought this was great. They were poor and deaf and wanted better for their child than what they had. 

Ducky’s please fell on deaf ears, though, as Gibbs continued to ignore his warnings. Ducky didn’t know if it was the enchantment that Diane had on him or just Gibbs inherent stubborn nature. He prayed that it would not bring the downfall of the kingdom. 

Abby was probably about five years old, right now, and she was already showing signs of issues with her ears. Ducky knew that her physical health would be a lot better in the palace where the court doctors could attend to her ears and servants could dote on her than with her parents who struggled to put food on their table, but he worried for her mental health. Gibbs clearly saw Kelly in her. 

Diane had done nothing to stop the adoption. Ducky wasn’t sure if that was a sign that something more was going on with this adoption ceremony or if Diane was unaware of just what Gibbs saw when he looked at Abby. Perhaps Diane thought that a child would be easy to control.

Ducky didn’t know. Worse, he couldn’t do anything when Gibbs insisted on going along with it. So he watched and waited from the shadows and hoped that this time they would be able to prevent the tragedy that came with a king and queen who were not true loves.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok. I had hoped to be further along than I am, but I have finished the stories for posting today, so hopefully I can keep up this pace for now.
> 
> My 2018 Prompt collection is open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2018/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;) It will remain open until the beginning of 2019. I'm hoping to complete all the 2018 prompts by the end of 2019. Here's hoping muse cooperates.
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> I've started a new [poll](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/55450.html) regarding my series and which ones people most want to see continued in place of the Rapprochement series which I have brought to an end for now... 
> 
> Note: The Bishop Entanglement, Crazy Cat Tale, and Pregnant FBI Agent series will be continued no matter what, so you don't need to vote for those. For those who don't have livejournals just leave a comment with your responses. Thanks!
> 
> Also, I'm looking for some writing buddies. Full details are [here](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/53610.html). It is friends locked, so you'll have to add me as a friend on lj before you can read it.
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


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